In a significant move towards disaster preparedness in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath Government inaugurated the first State Emergency Operation Center training facility, ‘Rahat Gurukulam,’ on Thursday.

This state-of-the-art center aims to provide disaster management training to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the general public across the state.

The initiative aims to cultivate a robust cadre of trained individuals across the state, poised to effectively respond to disasters and minimize loss of life and resources. It’s noteworthy that the BJP government in the state places a great emphasis on reducing casualties in disasters. As part of this commitment, it had directed the Relief department to establish its training center.

‘Rahat Gurukulam’ was inaugurated by Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra on Thursday as a training hub for the State Emergency Operation Center at the Divisional Revenue Training Center on Deva Road, Chinhat.

The State Emergency Operation Center of the Relief Commissioner’s Office is responsible for managing disaster-related damages, relief distribution, and monitoring across the state. However, until now, the department lacked a permanent training center to provide disaster management training to various departments, institutions, and stakeholders involved in disaster mitigation.

Responding to CM Yogi’s directive, Rahat Gurukulam has been established as a state-of-the-art training center. This facility comprises one conference room, two training rooms, an auditorium, and seating arrangements for eight officers. Additionally, a modern computer lab has been set up to facilitate training in various activities related to disaster preparedness, rescue operations, and awareness.

Through Rahat Gurukulam, individuals will receive comprehensive training to prepare them for disasters in a time-bound manner, with the ultimate goal of minimizing loss of life and damage.

Speaking at the programme, Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra said ‘Rahat Gurukulam’ would play an important role in disaster management and mitigation in the state. “Just as ‘Rishi Muni’ used to provide education in Gurukul, in the same way, through this Rahat Gurukulam, training will be given to protect the common people from disasters using modern technologies according to the same method,” he added.

Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue, Sudhir Garg, said Rahat Gurukulam stands out as one of the ambitious projects of the Relief Commissioner. Through this center, positive and concrete efforts are being made toward better disaster management and mitigation by the Relief Commissioner’s office and the Revenue Department, he added.